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John Lennon - Chuck Berry Connection


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I always knew Lennon and McCartney were huge Chuck Berry fans, but I never really thought there was any lyrical connection there...just an influence.

 

But a minute ago, this Chuck Berry song You Can't Catch Me came up on my iTunes, and I heard the following lyric:

 

New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours

I was rolling slowly 'cause of drizzlin' showers

Here come old flattop he was movin' up with me

Then come wavin' goodbye

 

I did a double take. Huh? Did I hear that right? I looked up the lyrics, and sure enough, there it is. Lennon copped almost that whole line to start Come Together.

 

Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly

 

Anyone know any other instances of this connection in the Beatles lyrics? I find it fascinating, and kind of shocking, really. Dylan I would almost expect, but not Chuck B.

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The obvious one is "Back in the USSR" copped from "Back in the USA" by Chuck. Not to mention all the covers of Berry they did.

 

Kind of reminds me of Lennon and Berry jamming on the Mike Douglas show together.

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Chuck and his lawyers noticed it also:

 

Via wiki:

 

Lawsuit

 

In 1973, "Come Together" was the subject of a lawsuit brought against Lennon by Big Seven Music Corp. (owned by Morris Levy) who was the publisher of Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me". This was because it sounded similar musically to Berry's original and shared some lyrics (Lennon sang "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly" and Berry's had sung "Here come a flattop, he was movin' up with me"). Before recording, Lennon and McCartney deliberately slowed the song down and added a heavy bass riff in order to make the song more original.[9] After settling out of court, Lennon promised to record three other songs owned by Levy.[10] "You Can't Catch Me" and "Ya Ya" were released on Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, but the third, "Angel Baby", remained unreleased until after Lennon's death. Levy again sued Lennon for breach of contract, and was eventually awarded $6,795.[11]

 

Thankfully John and Chuck seemed fine with it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45V1Q_C2Wpc

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Those Berry lyrics are hysterical, (wee wee hours, drizzlin showers) considering his penchant for golden showers...

 

John sang all the Beatles' Chuck Berry covers except one. Name it.

 

George Harrison sang Roll Over Beethoven.

 

--Mike

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Intersection of this thread and the greatest studio recordings thread.....

 

Chuck Berry's Chess material!!! Most bands wish they could make records that sound as great as those Chuck Berry sides....

 

 

LouieB

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New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours

I was rolling slowly 'cause of drizzlin' showers

Here come old flattop he was movin' up with me

Then come wavin' goodbye

 

Also - Bruce Springsteen's State Trooper, Open All Night, and Johnny Bye-Bye.

 

Morris Levy was quite a shady character.

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Morris Levy was quite a shady character.

 

And sadly not uncommon in the 1950's music industry.

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Yeah, I always knew the Beatles did a lot of Berry covers in their early days, most famously Rock & Roll Music and Roll Over Beethoven, but I never knew about the Come Together/You Can't Catch Me connection. Honestly, I have a ton of Chuck's Anthology material on my iTunes, but I don't listen to it much. I find him pretty repetitive after just a couple songs.

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Here is the part I sort of recall:

 

In the mid-1970s Levy filed a much-publicised lawsuit against John Lennon for appropriating a line from the Chuck Berry song, "You Can't Catch Me" (for which Levy owned the publishing rights) in The Beatles' song "Come Together." Lennon ultimately settled with Levy by agreeing to record three songs from Levy's publishing catalogue during the sessions for his 1975 LP Rock 'n' Roll, co-produced with Phil Spector. After complications, due to Spector, and attempts at a second agreement failed, Levy used demo recording from Lennon to produce and release "Roots." Levy successfully sued Lennon with an award of $6,795, but was countersued by Lennon, Capitol, EMI, and Apple for an award of $145,300.

 

I think I almost remember seeing a TV commercial for the "Roots" album.

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